The Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital, ruling your wrist

The last time I was talking with you about Swedish watch brand Sjoo Sandstrom, we were going over what I consider to be an entry-level model out of their collection, the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Steel Classic. In that article, I positioned the watch as one that sits on the dressier end of the sporty spectrum. Well, the watch we’re talking about today, the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital, flips things around a bit, as I’d say it’s more on the sportier end of a dress watch.

That is not to say the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital is a small watch. Well, perhaps by modern standards 40mm is small, but I call it comfortable wearable. No, with the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital, what brings me to call the watch a dress watch is due to the finishes, as well as another dimensional aspect (which we’ll get to in a minute). But first, those finishes. Take a close look at the indices and handset. Notice anything missing? That’s right, no lume. When I see that, I immediately put a watch into a dressier category.

Subtract the luminous paint, add in beveled and polished surfaces on those hands and indices, and yeah, you’ve got a dressier piece. Now, on a dress watch, you’d commonly expect the bezel to be polished. Not so here. Instead, the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital features a brushed bezel. This is set within a polished case, so you do get a bright ring around the bezel. However, with the brushing, it catches and mutes the light much differently and – at least in the photos – makes for a darker look. This is a great example of how the brand is mixing up the design a bit, and it’s a detail that I rather like.

The dial of the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital carries along that flatter look, which helps to offset the bright indices (and hands) as well as the glossier small seconds sub-dial. Mix in an alligator strap and deployment clasp, then, yeah, you’ve got yourself a dressier sort of a watch. And, if seeing it in steel and sapphire (both front and back) isn’t dressy enough for you, there’s also a variant with a 18K pink gold case.

As I mentioned at the outset, there’s a dimension of the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital that also points to it being a dress watch, and I meant that literally. In this case, it’s the case thickness – here, it’s called out as 7.8mm. Now, we’ve seen and read about thin watches before, but flipping the watch over reveals why this is special – at least for me. You see, the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital features a movement with a micro-rotor.

The movement, in this case, is labelled as a SSG9, which is based off of the Vaucher Manufacture Cal. 5401. AKA, not some no-name movement. Ever since I have learned about them, micro-rotor movements have fascinated me. It’s a clever way of simplifying a watch (making it thinner) while, at the same time, making the mechanicals more complex. The off-center mounting needs to be accounted for and power transmitted to the barrel. With the smaller rotor, how do you ensure there’s enough energy being transmitted? That part is simpler – the micro rotor is made from tungsten. Suffice to say, I rather like micro rotors, though I’ve never actually seen or handled one in person. Ah, well, some day.

As you might suspect, the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital comes in with a larger price tag than the Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Steel Classic. In steel, the watch commands $6,966, and if you’re feeling that pink gold with it’s ivory dial, be prepared to put down $16,522. These are, by no means, impulse buys. What they are, though, are beautiful watches. And hey, as long as you’re saving up for a more aspirational piece like this, might as well save a few more dollars for a plane ticket over to Stockholm to check the watch out in person, right? Now, that would be a bold move – planning a vacation around a watch. Well, while we all daydream about that, be sure to let us know in the comments, or on our Slack channel what you think of the watch. Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s have a discussion about other micro-rotor equipped watches. I can’t be the only one who finds them enticing, right? sjoosandstrom.se

Watch Overview

Brand & Model: Sjoo Sandstrom Royal Capital

Price: $6,966 (steel), $16,522 (pink gold)

Who we think it might be for: You know what you like, and have the budget that allows you to get something a little different from the rest of the pack

Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? Oh, yes, this is one I certainly would not mind adding to the collection

If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Shrink the sundial so the indices don’t get chopped on the main dial

What spoke to me the most about this watch: Design aside, it’s that micro rotor

Writer on, and amateur collector of, watches of all types. Along with my writings here, you can find additional watch-related thoughts from me over on aBlogtoWatch.
If you're on Twitter and/or Instagram, you'll find me there as @PatrickWatches.